ATLANTA, GA - It seems that Americold Realty Trust can’t sit still for too long before making its next game-changing move. We reported in September that the company had acquired a trio of cold storage facilities based in Florida and Texas. As of this week, Americold has scooped up yet another cold storage operation, this time acquiring Agro Merchants Group for a whopping $1.74 billion.
"We are very excited to welcome the Agro team to the Americold family as we expand the scale and enhance the geographic reach of the Americold network. The acquisition of Agro represents a unique opportunity to acquire an institutional-quality global portfolio that facilitates our strategic entry into Europe and adds complementary locations in the U.S., South America, and Australia, where Americold is already established," said Americold President and CEO Fred Boehler.
According to news source Benzinga, Agro is one of the largest temperature-controlled operators in the world, ranking third in Europe and fourth in the U.S. The Netherlands-based company has garnered 46 refrigerated facilities and touts 236 million cubic feet spanning across Europe, North America, South America, and Australia.
The deal includes over $554 million of Americold’s stock, $519 million in cash, $560 million in debts to Agro, and the assumption of $110 million in Agro’s capital leases and sale leaseback agreements, as noted by the news source. Though we can’t say for sure, the acquisition is expected to be finalized at the end of 2020 or in early 2021.
"I am extremely proud of the work we have done to build Agro into a true industry leader in temperature-controlled logistics with a global portfolio," said Agro CEO Carlos Rodriguez. "We are confident that by joining Americold, we will accelerate our growth, and by combining our complementary networks, we will be able to provide a more comprehensive range of solutions to customers around the world."
Americold expects this momentous deal to fortify its presence as a global leader in the cold storage space. Once finalized, its portfolio will consist of 229 facilities with a total of 1.35 billion cubic feet.
How will this industry mover and shaker continue to make waves worldwide? Keep a tab open for ANUK to find out.
